The government on Friday replaced Pahlaj Nihalani with songwriter-poet Prasoon Joshi as the chief of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Joshi was appointed with immediate effect for a period of three years or until further orders, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry stated in a release.

Joshi, 45, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015 for his contributions towards the field of arts, literature and advertising.

He had also penned the anthem for the Swachh Bharat Mission. He has received a number of awards, including the National Award for best lyrics twice.

Nihalani's three-year tenure was to end in January next year. "But this order came before three years (of Nilahani's tenure ending)," Anurag Shrivastav, CEO of CBFC, said.Since his appointment as the head of the CBFC in January 2015, Nihalani made headlines for a number of controversial moves and statements. "... The central government is pleased to appoint Prasoon Joshi as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in an honorary capacity from August 11, 2017 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier," the release said.

Director Agnihotri, who was appointed as one of the members of the board, said from the US, "With people like Prasoon Joshi and Vidya Balan, we all are very progressive. We are not outsiders and will look at it (films) from fresh angle." Recently, Nihalani was in news related to the multiple cuts in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Indu Sarkar" and refusal to certify "Lipstick Under My Burqa".

Another controversy erupted when the CB­FC objected to the word "intercourse" in the Shah Rukh Khan film "When Harry Met Sejal". Besides, the de­cision to beep wo­rds like "cow" and "Hindu India" in a documentary on Nobel Laureate Am­a­rtya Sen also attracted criticism.